On October 13, police in Atlanta were trying to talk a man in his mid-20s out of committing suicide off the 22-story high Colony Square Hotel. Things were not looking good, until international superstar T.I. turned up. (Read more about the rash of recent suicides.)

The recording artist, film producer and occasional actor “appeared out of nowhere,” police spokesman James Polite told CNN. The rap star, whose real name is Clifford Harris, reportedly gave the man a pep-talk about how a person “can make it through anything,” telling him “life’s not that bad.” He managed to convince the man, who was not identified by police, to come down from the roof and talk to him. After several minutes of conversation with T.I, the man was taken to Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital for a psychological evaluation. (See a timeline of the roots of rap.)